Charlesworth & Rugg

Charlesworth & Rugg, Inc. was founded by Dr. Donald D. Rugg in 1979. The mission of the firm is to provide investment management services to individuals and institutional investors with investment objectives ranging from aggressive growth to income. From its inception, the firm has specialized in creating portfolios of no-load mutual funds and, more recently, ETFs designed to achieve the investment objective of each client. We have always strived to achieve both a high level of risk-adjusted performance and outstanding client service. Prior to founding Charlesworth & Rugg, Inc., a predecessor partnership with the name Charlesworth & Rugg was created in 1976 by Dr. Donald Rugg and Mr. Don Charlesworth. The partnership provided essentially the same services as the corporation and the overall approach to investing currently employed by Charlesworth & Rugg, Inc. has changed very little over time. No one at Charlesworth & Rugg, Inc. receives any brokerage commissions or other compensation by selling stocks, mutual funds, ETFs, annuities, insurance products, tax shelters or any other type of investment product. Our business is to provide investment supervisory services and our sole compensation comes from investment management and investment consulting fees. We have, therefore, eliminated many of the classic "conflicts of interest" that have so often characterized the investments industry. As a result, our firm has grown over time by increasing the market value of client portfolios or by acquiring new clients. New clients often hear about us by word of mouth from satisfied clients, friends or third party professionals. Charlesworth & Rugg, Inc. provides advice on a discretionary basis where we have a limited power of attorney to purchase and sell no-load mutual funds, load-waived mutual funds and / or ETFs on behalf of our clients. All securities are always held in the name of our client by an independent third party broker, such as Charles Schwab Institutional or T.D. Ameritrade Institutional, or by an independent custodial bank chosen by the client. The broker or custodial bank also sends transaction confirmations and monthly statements directly to each client. This provides our clients with a maximum degree of safety, flexibility and control over their investments. Our job is simply to help our clients better manage their assets to achieve their long run investment goals and objectives. Although we believe our approach will perform well in the future, neither Charlesworth & Rugg, Inc., nor any other investment advisor, can guarantee the avoidance of portfolio losses, the attainment of positive future returns or that portfolio holdings will perform in accordance with the risk preferences of each client. Similarly, Charlesworth & Rugg, Inc. cannot promise to avoid adverse future tax consequences. We believe a successful investment strategy involves broad diversification and the flexibility to shift assets to a defensive position during periods of anticipated market weakness. We seek to identify major turning points in various financial markets and adjust the allocation of each portfolio with the dual goals of capitalizing on market advances and preserving capital during declines. We strive to achieve superior long term real rates of return (after inflation) while limiting risks to a level consistent with the goals and circumstances of each client. We seek to establish a close relationship with our clients to ensure that our management program is fully responsive to their special needs and circumstances. Jonathan C. Rugg, CFA | President & Chief Compliance Officer Jonathan joined Charlesworth & Rugg, Inc. in 2010. His is responsible for investment analysis and research, new business development, and portfolio management activities for the Customized Solutions Program. He is a member of C&R, Inc.'s Investment Committee. Prior to joining the firm, Jon worked in real estate private equity for Urdang Capital Management (now CenterSquare Capital), a fully owned subsidiary of the Bank of New York (BNY) Mellon. During his tenure at Urdang, he was involved in real estate acquisitions with a total investment value in excess of $800 million. Jon received his B.S. degree from The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania with concentrations in Finance, Real Estate, and Marketing. He is a CFA charterholder. Jon currently sits on the Board of the CFA LA Wealth Management Speaker Series, volunteers on the Professionals Board of Imerman Angels LA (a cancer outreach and support group), serves as an independent Board member of a mutual fund, and has been a long time participant in Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Philadelphia. He has also written articles for Institutional Investor and InvestmentNews. In his free time Jon enjoys traveling, snowboarding, cooking, and playing beach volleyball. Cyrus M. Amini, Esq. | Vice President & Director of Research Cyrus joined Charlesworth & Rugg in 2013. His primary responsibilities are new business development, investment analysis and research, and portfolio management activities for the Global Portfolios Program. He is a member of the Investment Committee. Prior to joining the firm Cyrus worked as an analyst on the High Yield Credit trading desk at Bank of America. While at Bank of America, he was part of a team responsible for trading corporate bonds, credit default swaps and credit derivative indices. Cyrus received his B.A. degree in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania, graduated from Boston College Law School with a J.D. and is a member of the New York State Bar Association. He is a CFA Level III Candidate. Cyrus currently serves as Chairman of the Board of a mutual fund. He has written articles and been mentioned in publications such as US News and World Report, the Wall Street Journal, Institutional Investor, Nationwide Retirement Resource, Yahoo Finance and Money Magazine. Cyrus recently completed his first Ironman 70.3 race and enjoys soccer, traveling, reading and skiing in his free time. Donald D. Rugg, Ph.D. | Consultant Dr. Rugg founded Charlesworth & Rugg, Inc. in 1976. He has authored The Dow Jones Irwin Guide to Mutual Funds and New Strategies for Mutual Fund Investing. He received his Ph.D. in economics from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1971 and has served on the faculty of UCLA and Pepperdine University. Before founding Charlesworth & Rugg, Inc., he was an economist for the Rand Corporation. Dr. Rugg is responsible for directing the firm's research and portfolio management activities for the Customized Solutions Program. As a member of the Investment Committee, Dr. Rugg primarily focuses upon the firm's research and portfolio management activities. He also enjoys interacting with both new and existing clients. He is a member of the American Economics Association, the CFA Institute, and the CFA Society of Los Angeles. In his free time Dr. Rugg enjoys playing tennis, hiking, golfing and spending time at his home in the Sierras. Jamie Rugg | Financial Advisor Jamie joined Charlesworth & Rugg, Inc. in 2016. Her primary responsibilities are financial planning and client services, new business development, and investment analysis and research. Prior to joining the firm, Jamie led operations, strategy and business development at a tech startup. Jamie also held numerous management positions in training and development at Nordstrom. She received her B.S. degree from the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California with concentrations in Strategic Management and Finance. Jamie is currently enrolled in the Professional Certificate in Personal Financial Planning at UCLA. Lisa Irwin Sternberg | Chief Operations Officer Lisa joined Charlesworth & Rugg, Inc. in 1983. She implemented the computerized portfolio management, trading, and research systems at Charlesworth & Rugg, Inc. With over thirty years experience in the investment management field, she is responsible for portfolio trading, operations management, client reporting and implementing compliance procedures. She received a B.A. degree from UCLA and an M.B.A. from CSUN. Carol Miller | Operations Carol joined Charlesworth & Rugg, Inc. in 1988 and is responsible for securities trading and client reporting. Carol helps design and maintain the many proprietary databases used to produce economic and financial spreadsheets and detailed analytical reports. David Yoshioka | Financial Advisor Dave joined Charlesworth & Rugg, Inc. in 2001, and his primary responsibilities are in the areas of business development and client liaison services. Dave has broad experience as an executive in the insurance, accounting and finance industries and was previously the president of the Heritage Insurance Group. He received his undergraduate training in finance from the University of Illinois and an M.B.A. in finance from the Wharton School of Business. Marvin Karelitz | Client Liaison Marvin's primary responsibilities at Charlesworth & Rugg, Inc. are business development and client liaison services. He also serves as an arbitrator with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Prior to joining Charlesworth & Rugg, Inc., Marvin was a financial advisor for Crowell Weedon with principle responsibilities in managing client portfolios. Prior to that, he served as an auditor in the aerospace and entertainment industries. He received his B.S. in Business Administration from UCLA and has been associated with Charlesworth & Rugg, Inc. since 2008.